Application Guide

Created by Captain Aviram Drell on Tue Aug 6th, 2019 @ 12:35am

Overview

The purpose of this guide is to provide an overview of what is expected from applications submitted to the simulation. Anyone who is planning on joining the USS Vesta should read through as there are several things you’ll need to take note of in order to create a good application that will earn you a strong place aboard the sim.

The Basics

Fill in all of the boxes. Character applications form the basis for a character’s biography page as well as a player’s user profile. While not every box will always be applicable to every character, most are designed to collect relevant information and should be filled in. The same is true of the boxes related to your personal information.

If you have concerns regarding your personal information, contact the commanding officer.

Be creative. A role-playing simulation is about cooperative storytelling. What you put into your application has an impact on how others understand your character. This also affects how our shared story ends up being told. Applications that look like someone has thrown only a sentence or two into each box just to fill it with something will not be accepted.

You may be asked to revisit and expand upon sections of your application before final consideration.

History & Personality

Two of the biggest determining factors on any application are a character’s history and personality. These sections make up the core of your character’s biography by helping others understand who the character is and where they came from.

The absolute minimum that will be considered is fifty (50) words for character personality and one-hundred fifty (150) words for character history.

If you wish to be considered for the position of executive officer (XO), then you must have a minimum of one-hundred (100) words for personality and five-hundred (500) words for history. This is because the executive officer serves an example for the crew in their character biography as well as their post-writing.

The longer and more detailed any section of your character’s biography is, the higher the chance of your application receiving an outstanding review. These reviews may affect your standing in the sim from the start as well as your character’s starting rank.

Visit the Biography Guide for more information about writing character biographies.

Diversity Diversity is not required for character applications, but it is strongly encouraged as creative diversity enriches the writing of everyone aboard the simulation.

Questions about how to incorporate diversity into your character’s biography or whether a particular character you have would contribute to the overall diversity of the simulation should be discussed with the commanding officer.

Player Experience

It is generally understood that any particular player may have a great deal of simming experience, none at all, or somewhere in-between. Knowing your level of experience will help the commanding officer better understand how to approach reviewing your application and discussing it with you. However, your simming experience won’t directly impact whether your application is accepted or not.

Timing

The commanding officer will try to reply to all applications within forty-eight (48) hours of the application being received. If they are unable to review the application in that timeframe, they will notify you of the reason (e.g. wanting a second opinion, going on LOA).

Replied With a "No"

If your application has been rejected, please don’t be disheartened. It is extremely rare that any application will be flat-out refused. The commanding officer will always give you an explanation as to what they felt was missing and what you could do to improve. They will even help you work on improving it if you want them to.

Any player can always re-apply with an improved application (unless otherwise specified).

Replied With a "Yes"

Congratulations and welcome to the sim! In your acceptance email, you will receive additional details you’ll need to know including the status of the current mission. This is meant to ensure a smooth transition (without disturbing the storyline) as you introduce your character and begin writing.

Follow-Up

Questions, comments, and concerns are always welcomed and should be directed to a member of the command staff via private message or email.

Modification and enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of the commanding officer.

See Also


Source

Adapted from the “Application Guide” of the USS Highlander. Used with permission.

Updated: 08/05/2019


Categories: Character Development